Restaurant Leadership Conference Serves as Backdrop for Innovation, Announcements
As restaurant-industry influencers gather in Scottsdale for the invitation-only 2015 Restaurant Leadership Conference (RLC) this week, NoWait, the first mobile network for casual-dining restaurants, and First Watch, the nation’s leading Breakfast, Brunch and Lunch concept, today announced that NoWait is now available at all 113 corporate-owned First Watch restaurants. The NoWait app enables First Watch guests to get in line remotely instead of waiting in a busy entryway on a crowded day.
“Since launching with NoWait early last year, First Watch has been the fastest and most complete adopter of our NoWait suite of products,” said Ware Sykes, CEO, NoWait.
The collaboration will allow guests who download the free app to search local First Watch locations in the 11 states where the company’s corporate restaurants are located, compare wait times within a 30-mile radius, and add their names remotely to the restaurant’s real-time, interactive seating list. NoWait’s technology enables patrons to track their place in line and simply show up precisely when their table is nearly ready, giving them back the time that otherwise would be wasted by waiting at crowded restaurants that do not accept reservations.
“NoWait is an important asset in our efforts to continually improve our guest experience,” said Chris Tomasso, Chief Marketing Officer, First Watch. “Feedback from our customers and our operators has been tremendous and the analytics we receive for average wait time and seating efficiency has helped us make better decisions about our business. Integrating NoWait into First Watch’s day-to-day operations means allowing our guests to get in line on a busy day while they’re sitting on their couches, at a stoplight or shopping at the mall next door.”
With offices in New York City and Pittsburgh, NoWait is backed by Drive Capital and Birchmere Ventures. The NoWait guest app is a complementary extension of the NoWait host app, which currently is used in casual-dining restaurants across the country, including major national chains such as First Watch, On The Border, and Buffalo Wild Wings, as well as popular independent hotspots like Hubert Keller’s Burger Bar. To date, NoWait has seated more than 121 million diners and regularly seats more than 10 million diners every month. For more information, visit nowait.com, follow @NoWaitApp and like it on Facebook at facebook.com/nowaitapp. The app is available for iOS, as well as Android.
First Watch specializes in award-winning, made-to-order Breakfast, Brunch and Lunch. A recipient of more than 200 “Best Breakfast” and “Best Brunch” accolades, First Watch offers traditional favorites, such as omelets, pancakes, sandwiches and salads, and unique specialty items like the fan-favorite Chickichanga® and Fresh Fruit Crepes. Named a 2013 “Next 20” Emerging Brand by Nation’s Restaurant News, a 2014 Top Franchise Value by FSR Magazine and the recipient of the 2014 Menu Masters Award for Best Healthful Innovation for its Quinoa Power Bowl, First Watch is the largest and fastest-growing daytime-only restaurant concept in the U.S. with more than 120 restaurants in 17 states. It also operates 19 restaurants under The Good Egg name in Arizona and one Bread & Company restaurant in Nashville. For more information, follow First Watch on Twitter, like it on Facebook and visit www.firstwatch.com.
